The Rise of Rhetoric and Its Intersections With Contemporary Critical Thought (Polemics Series)

Against a backdrop of ancient Greek theories of rhetoric, examines contemporary critical and Marxist theories of resistance, domination, knowledge, and systems of ideological control. Situates the theories within tensions and problems of the contemporary socioeconomic environment. Intended both to demonstrate how leftist critical politics can be combined with scholarship, and to make rhetorical and critical scholarship interesting and comprehensible to non-specialist readers. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR Machine generated contents note: Introduction Rhetoric as Culturally Experienced, 1 What Is Rhetoric? 5 Effective Versus Ineffective Rhetorical Theory, 9 Conclusion, 14 Notes, 15 1 The Circumstance Behind the Development of Rhetorical Theory 17 The Need for Historicization in the Study of Ideas, 18 Exploring the Contradictions in Athenian and American "Democracy," 29 The Political Structure of Ancient Greece, 31 Comparison to U.S. Imperialism, 38 The Epistemic Function of Rhetoric, 40 Conclusion, 42 Notes, 42 2 The Beginning of Rhetoric in Ancient Greece 46 Ideas, Representation, and Mythology, 46 Rhetoric Comes to Athens, 60 Protagoras and Gorgias, 70 Influence of the Sophists, 81 Conclusion, 83 Notes, 83 3 Isocrates 87 Characteristics of Isocrates' Educational and Linguistic Philosophy, 89 Pedagogy and Politics, 94 Che Guevara, Praxis, and Third World Pan-Nationalism, 98 Isocrates' Educational "System," 104 The Writings of Isocrates, 107 Conclusion, 114 Notes, 114 4 Plato 118 Education and Praxis: From Isocrates to Plato, 118 Reification and Foundations in the Dialogues of Plato, 121 Richard Weaver and Plato's Objections to the Sophists, 132 Plato's Philosophical Views, 136 Platonic Versus Rhetorical Analysis, 146 Conclusion, 150 Notes, 151 5 Aristotle 154 Foucault, Knowledge, and Language, 154 Platonic Tendencies in Western Society, 156 Introduction to Aristotle, 158 The Rhetoric of Aristotle, 162 Aristotle: A Summary, 176 Notes, 176 Conclusion 179 Scholarship and Radical Democracy, 179 Notes, 183. Against the backdrop of the Greek history of rhetorical theory, this book accentuates contemporary critical and Marxist theories of resistance, domination, knowledge, and systems of ideological control. The author offers a balanced discussion of classical and modern theories of rhetoric, as well as critical theory. In addition, the book situates these theories within tensions and problems that exist in our contemporary sociopolitical environment. As such, The Rise of Rhetoric and Its Intersection with Contemporary Critical Thought is a practical introduction to a wide range of interdisciplinary theories and perspectives, and it serves as a useful tool for enabling people to become aware of their social, political, and communicative environments. This book features contemporary critical and Marxist theories of resistance, domination, knowledge, and systems of ideological control. It offers a balanced discussion of classical and modern theories of rhetoric, as well as critical theory. Omar Swartz. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.